Pag Pizza Academy is opening a new Captain program cycle from August 31 to September 5, 2026. After the first academy cycles showed how practical pizza education can connect people, work, local hospitality, and the island of Pag, the next group will once again step into a full six-day training focused on real kitchen readiness.
The Captain program is designed for people who want more than a casual pizza workshop. Participants work through dough preparation, fermentation, shaping, baking, oven work, ingredient use, timing, workflow, and the rhythm of a professional pizzeria.
Over six days, the goal is not only to make good pizza during the course, but to understand what makes someone useful, confident, and reliable inside a real kitchen.
From Previous Cycles to Real Kitchen Experience
The previous academy cycles already showed why this approach matters. Participants did not only leave with certificates and group photos. They moved into professional kitchens, continued working, and started building real experience immediately after completing the program.
One of the strongest results came from the previous cycle, where three new female pizzaiolas completed the academy and continued working on the island. For Pag, this means new skills, new people in local hospitality, and a stronger base for the season ahead.
The academy was built around a simple idea: food education should create real opportunities, especially in places where hospitality depends on trained, motivated, and reliable people.
A Program Connected to Pag
Pag Pizza Academy has also become more connected to the local community. In the previous cycle, students from Bartul Kašić High School joined a practical masterclass, while Pag’s mayor took part in the training for a day and experienced the academy from inside the process.
Those moments matter because they show how the academy sits directly between education, tourism, work, hospitality, and local identity. Pizza becomes the format, while the bigger story is about skills, people, and what Pag can offer outside the usual summer frame.
International Standards, Island Setting
Previous academy work was also shaped by international mentorship. Jędrzej Lewandowski, owner of Zielona Górka in Poland, supervised the second cycle and helped raise the level of the program through practical feedback, professional standards, and a clear understanding of what makes a pizzeria work every day.
For a small academy on an island, supervision like this keeps the training close to real industry standards, while the program stays personal, practical, and focused on each participant.
Greg Yurkovich Joins as Supervisor
The next Captain cycle will be supervised by Greg Yurkovich from Pop's Pizza in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Pop's Pizza has become one of the most recognizable pizza names in the region, listed by 50 Top Pizza and known for its quality, consistency, and modern approach to pizza culture.
Greg brings an outside professional perspective into the training. Participants will not only learn how to make pizza, but also how to think like someone who belongs inside a working pizzeria: organized, focused, consistent, and ready for service.
For participants, this means small-group learning, direct feedback, and exposure to standards from one of the region’s strongest pizza scenes.
What the Captain Program Covers
During the six-day program, participants will work through the full pizza-making process: dough preparation, fermentation, stretching, topping, baking, oven management, ingredient handling, station organization, and service rhythm.
The course is built around repetition and correction. Participants work with their hands from the beginning, receive direct feedback, and learn how small decisions affect the final result.
The Academy also focuses on the mindset behind professional work: showing up prepared, keeping the station clean, communicating with the team, respecting timing, and understanding how consistency separates a good pizza from a reliable pizza operation.
New Dates and Applications
The next Captain program at Pag Pizza Academy will take place from August 31 to September 5, 2026 at D10’s Pizza Fantasista on Prosika in Pag.
Places are limited because the program is built around direct work, small groups, individual feedback, and a training rhythm close to real kitchen conditions.
Applications are available through the official Pag Pizza Academy page.
Six days, one island, a serious kitchen rhythm, and a new chance to learn the craft properly.
